I am rising for an incarcerated tribal teacher Soni Sori , a woman who juggled several roles – a tribal journalist, activist, teacher, mother of three young kids. A woman who dared to speak against the interests of the Chhattisgarh State and mining companies. A woman who did not succumb to the emotional, physical, sexual harassment targeted at breaking her spirits in the jail. She, instead, knocked at the conscience of the world outside.

She began her fight against injustice in October 2011, when she was arrested on the charges of being a maoist supporter and brutally, physically and sexually tortured in custody by the Chhattisgarh police.

The announcement of the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry on 63rdRepublic day of India in 2012 for Ankit Garg, the SP of Dantewada is a reflection of the sad state of the Indian Republic .. It was shocking to see that a police officer who was accused of brutalising and torturing the young Adivasi teacher, Soni Sori, was lauded by the State even after reports of perversity of the worst kind in the way he reportedly ordered the torture of Sori in police custody.

ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE ONLINE

1)–Please sign a petition to president of India to take back his medal here

If you have blog webiste please embed below widget, its on sonis ori blog as well

Light a candle for soni sori you can embed a widget on your blog, copy and paste below, share widely

She fought back! She went on hunger strike in jail and protested against the human rights violations and the treatment by the Chhattisgarh Police; she wrote letters tot he court about the situation in prison and continues to speak out whenever she can.

Even after more than a year, Soni has not received justice. Her struggle continues…

Soni Sori has become a symbol of mistreatment of all women prisoners .

Her fight for justice is not just for herself but also for others.

Her letters from Prison which spread like for fire for an International support on March 8th 2012

WE Rise for Soni Sori because:

Far from being an oppressed and downtrodden woman, as an outspoken critic of the state policies, the mining companies, and the Maoists, Soni Sori is being punished for exerting her democratic right to speak out indefence of her adivasi/ Indigenous community and their traditional lands rather than for a crime she has not even been tried for.

She is being punished by those who would not have the authority to mete out punishment even if she were guilty of a crime and the form of her punishments are not to be found in any penal code anywhere in the world.

If the Indian government is not willing to protect women from the illegal actions of its own agents when in their custody, then what message is it sending out to Indian men – that women are fair game just for going out or speaking out?

The Indian state not only seems to be failing to protect women from sexual and other types of violence, but is in fact sanctioning, indeed rewarding such crimes when they are committed by its employees and representatives to silence women who speak out in defence of human rights.

What: Organise your own ‘One Billion Rising’ action in your city, school, university, work place. Organise it any form you like. Or check the list of events on this page and join the one you can. Don’t worry If you are unable to make it to the streets, there are several online actions: petitions, letters to Indian government. But whatever you decide to do leave a message here so that others can join.

MUMBAI: The online world has been abuzz with news of the chemical attack on Aryanka Hozbetkar, 26, with netizens asking for help in finding the suspect Jerrit John, 46.

Director-actor Farhan Akhtar tweeted: “Shame on you Jerrit John. Now come out of hiding, you coward.” Akhtar posted a picture of John and wrote: “If you spot this man please dial 100 and refer case to Dadar police station.”

Simran Channey, a marketing manager at a film firm, tweeted, “Man, you can never know when someone will lose it! Jerrit was someone I had worked with, was a loser, but never thought he’d be a woman beater and would throw (a chemical) on a woman. It’s sickening me since morning.”

Human Rights activistKamayani Bali Mahabal blogged: “Jerrit has been asking friends to say that they did not hear anything or see anything. Jerrit, seriously, you think we will be quiet? You may have deleted your Facebook profile, but you can’t be on the run for long.”

Dipti Shah wrote on the networking page of Mumbai Cycling Enthusiasts: “So, so angry. Cycling is all about fun and not anger nor frustration nor revenge. So all you jerks and frustrated leeks, be it lust, be it power, be it personal vendetta – stay away. There’s no room here for you cowards.”

On August 9, during the hearing of a matrimonial dispute, KarnatakaHigh Court Judge K Bhaktavatsala told a young woman lawyer that she was unfit to argue the matter since she was unmarried. “Family matters should be argued only by married people, not spinsters. You should only watch. Bachelors and spinsters watching family court proceedings will start thinking if there is any need to marry at all. Marriage is not like a public transport system. You better get married and you will get very good experience to argue such cases,” he advised her.

Last week, hearing a case between a separated couple, in which the woman accused her husband of regularly beating her, the judge told the woman, “Women suffer in all marriages. You are married with two children, and know what it means to suffer as a woman. Yesterday, there was a techie couple who reconciled for the sake of their child. Your husband is doing good business, he will take care of you. Why are you still talking about his beatings?” He then pointed towards the lady judge — Justice B S Indrakala — sitting next to him, suggesting to the lawyer, “I know you have undergone pain. But that is nothing in front of what you undergo as a woman. I have not undergone such pain. But madam (Justice Indrakala) has.”

These are just two instances of Justice Bhaktavatsala speaking his mind on what he thinks is an acceptable viewpoint on matrimonial issues.

But woman rights groups are not amused. Mumbai-based rights activist Kamayani Bali Mahabal has sent a petition signed by over 500 people to Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia, requesting him to “conduct an inquiry into the remarks passed by the judge and intervene to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice in all cases relating to women because of such biased views”. The petition contains a list of statements made by him in court. These include asking a woman in a matrimonial dispute to ask her father — in open court — if he had never beaten his wife!

Bali told The Indian Express, “We have sent the petition to the CJI. The judiciary needs to be sensitised on how to deal with woman issues. I am shocked at the comments made by him. Judges are supposed to protect and enforce human rights of citizens, but here we have a judge who seems to be against women rights and is even encouraging them to continue to stay in a violent relationship.”

National Commission for Women Chairperson Mamata Sharma agrees: “On one hand we talk of gender equality and on the other we have such statements. Judges should be more careful with what they speak, especially when it comes to issues related to women,” she said.

“This is very disturbing. More so, because he is not the only member of the judiciary holding such views. The CJI must intervene,” said Flavia Agnes, founder of woman rights group Majlis.

Chandigarh: Anuradha Bali, the estranged wife of Haryana politician Chander Mohan, has been found dead in her bed at her home in Mohali near Chandigarh. The police believes she died four days ago. An uncle spoke to her on July 1; neighbours say they last saw her on July 2.Ms Bali’s body was so badly decomposed that even forensic experts could not bear the stench in the house; they stepped outside to dust a glass for fingerprints.

A post-mortem tomorrow is expected to confirm if Ms Bali committed suicide.

In January 2009, Mr Mohan left Ms Bali, to reunite with his first wife and their children. He then converted back to Hinduism in a ceremony at a temple. Ms Bali had reportedly spent the last few months in deep depression and had repeated fights with her neighbours; the police were called few times to intervene.

Yesterday, another Haryana politician, Gopal Goyal Kanda, had to resign after he was named in a suicide note left behind by a young woman named Geetika Sharma who killed herself in Delhi. In her note, she blamed the politician, who was Minister of State for Home in the Congress government, for harassment and cheating. Ms Sharma had worked for MDLR, an airline owned by Mr Kanda.

The Congress has asked chief minister Bhupinder Hooda to conduct an inquiry and submit a report on the case to its central leadership.